Dial L for Loser (17 page)

Without further hesitation, Claire dialed her mother.

“Are you all done for the day?” Judi asked.

“Yup.”

“How was it?”

“Good. Long but good.” Claire grabbed a handful of Red Vines off the craft service table.

“I want the details over dinner.” Judi sounded giddy. “I’m with Kendra and the girls right now. We’re thinking of going to—” She pulled away from the phone. “What’s the name of that spot?”

“Asia de Cuba,” Kendra said. “In the Mondrian Hotel.”

“Asia de Cuba,” Judi repeated. “It’s in some fancyshmancy hotel.”

“Uhm.” Claire took a deep breath. “Well, Abby kind of asked me to go to dinner with her.” Claire exhaled. “I think it’s kind of a get-to-know-you thing. But if you don’t want me to go I—”

“Don’t be silly. Go! Have fun with Abby!” Judi pulled away from the phone again and started speaking to someone else. “What, dear? Oh… Well, why don’t you ask her yourself? Here she is.”

Claire’s stomach clenched.

“Kuh-laire?” Massie said. “Hey, how was your day?”

“Not bad. Yours?” Claire couldn’t help holding back. The girls had been ignoring her ever since she’d helped them with their
Daily Grind
segment, and she knew better than to think they were suddenly over it.

“Great! We worked out a lot of the kinks and tomorrow’s show is going to be ah-mazing.”

“Good.” Claire stopped outside the wardrobe room. Nelly’s “Grillz” was blaring at top volume.

“So
what
are you doing tonight?” Massie asked, like Claire had already told her but she’d forgotten.

“Oh, I’m having some dinner thing with Abby.” Claire did her best to sound casual so she couldn’t be accused of bragging.

Massie whispered something, probably to Alicia.

“Listen.” Massie pressed her mouth against the phone. “We totally need a break from the mothers.”

Claire’s chest tightened. She knew what was coming next.

“Do you think we could meet up with you guys?”

“Uh, I’m not sure where we’re going,” Claire lied. “Let me check with Abby and I’ll call you back.”

“Awesome!” Massie whispered something else to Alicia. “Call me back, on my phone.”

“’Kay. Oh, and tell my mom I’ll be home by ten thirty and that the limo will drop me off.”

“’Kay. Call me back.” Massie hung up.

Claire bit into a Red Vine and closed her eyes while she chewed. Why had her mother put Massie on the phone? Now Claire
had
to include her. And that meant a night of loser jokes at her expense.

“Hey.” Claire pushed open the door to the wardrobe room. She wanted ten humiliation-free minutes with Abby Boyd. Then she’d call.

“Heyyyyy,” Claire called again, but Abby and Ahnna were in the back by the mirrors and couldn’t hear her. “HEYYYYYY!”

“Claire!” Abby jumped up on the denim couch. “Whaddu’ya think? Do you like?” She twirled so quickly, her sparkle-covered skirt puffed out like an umbrella.

“You look ah-mazing!” Claire remembered the faded blue T-shirt dress she’d worn to the set and thought about going out in her Lakeview uniform. It was much sexier.

“Ahnna made the skirt herself.” Abby jumped down.

“Well, I just added the sparkles.” Ahnna shrugged. “It was easy. Abby was the genius who paired it with the bikini top and jean vest.”

“If I knew we were going out tonight I would have put something together from the comp boxes, but—”

“Relax.” Ahnna applied a fresh coat of red lipstick. “Abby and I already pulled something for you. If you don’t like it, there’s tons more to choose from.”

“Seriously?”

“Absolution,” Abby replied with a proud smile.

Ahnna ran off for a second and reappeared with three hangers. The first held a tiny pair of gold shorts; the second, a faded vintage rock tee that said
JOURNEY
on the front; and the third, a wide leather belt.

“You’re not serious, are you?” Claire had underwear bigger than those shorts.

“Try it!” Ahnna stomped her foot in fake frustration.

Claire bit her thumbnail.

“Go!” Ahnna thrust the clothes into Claire’s arms.

“Why not, right?” She giggled and headed for the curtain.

She slid the shorts on under her pleated skirt and was surprised by how easily they fastened. The shirt was much tighter, but deliciously soft. And the belt slithered through the generous loops on the shorts and buckled with ease.

“Come out, we wanna see!”

Claire wiggled out of her uniform and yanked the curtain aside, anxious to see herself in the mirror.

Abby’s and Ahnna’s mouths hung open.

“What?” Claire’s cheeks burned. “Are the shorts up my butt? Do I look fat? Should I have shaved my thighs? I did my calves but stopped at my thighs because—”

“You look foxy,” Ahnna mused.

“Like a roller-derby rocker!” Abby punched the air.

“Slip these on.” Ahnna handed Claire a pair of Frye cow-boy boots made from the same brown leather as the belt.

“And these.” Abby hung a long string of wooden beads around Claire’s neck. “Wow.”

“Claire, your legs look so long.” Ahnna sighed with a touch of envy.

“Positively giraffic!” Abby twisted a yellow-stone ring off her pinky and handed it to Claire. “Here, take this.”

“I can’t.” Claire shook her head.

Abby wiggled her ring-covered fingers. “I think I can spare one.”

“Seriously?” Claire took the ring and carefully slid it onto her pinky, as if it held the secrets of the universe.

“Twist the stone.”

Claire did what she was told and the ring popped open. Inside was a tiny pot of gold-speckled gloss.

“It matches your shorts.” Abby grinned.

“I love it.” Claire breathed in the caramel smell as she smeared it across her lips.

“You look like Hollywood royalty.” Abby smiled.

“I feel like it.” Claire hugged Abby, then Ahnna. “Thank you both.”

Finally, Claire understood why the Pretty Committee was so obsessed with their outfits. She felt
special
dressed as a “roller-derby rocker”; unstoppable, beautiful, and alluring. But that was on the outside. Underneath the fabulous clothing she was still an insecure girl, dying to know why her crush wasn’t returning her call.

Claire peeked at her phone. The display said 0
MESSAGES
.

“One more thing.” Ahnna came at her with a palmful of coconut-scented gel. She rubbed it between her fingers, then separated Claire’s bangs into spiky pieces. “Now you’re done.”

“I want some of that.” Abby pouted.

“C’mere.” Ahnna ran her gelly fingers through Abby’s short blond hair until it was full of twists, points, and intentional tangles.

“Conner’s turn,” announced the actor, closing the door behind him.

“What are you doing here?” Abby’s hazel eyes brightened. “I told you we’d meet you in the limo.”

“He’s coming?” Claire whispered to Abby.

She nodded. “Is that okay?

“Of course!” Claire said a little too quickly. “I mean, sure. Why not?”

“Conner needs a blazer.” He put his arms around Ahnna’s narrow hips and kissed her on both cheeks. “I can’t go out with two hot babygirls looking like this.”

“Let’s go.” Ahnna pulled him toward the men’s section.

Claire checked her phone again—still no messages. She was tempted to take a picture of herself and send it to Cam but decided to wait until he called back. Whenever that might be.

Instead, she took a deep breath and dialed Massie. It had been more than ten minutes since they spoke and she was probably fuming. Claire was about to hit send but stopped.
I’ll call after the next song,
she told herself. Then she pressed store.

“
Last one in the limo rides without underwear!
” Conner yelled. He pushed open the door and took off down the hall.

Claire and Abby screamed, then raced out after him.

“Thanks, Ahnna!” Claire called over her shoulder.

“Pleasure.” Ahnna chuckled. “Have fun!”

If Claire had been wearing her Keds she would have passed Conner, but the boots must have weighed five pounds and made her feel like she was jogging underwater. Still, she refused to spend her first night out in L.A. without underwear. It was too cliché.

“Start stripping!” she yelled when she passed Abby.

“Nooooo fairrrr.” Abby cracked up. “I’m in heels.”

Claire ran outside, dashed through the lot, and smacked the back of the limo.

“Nice running, babygirl.” Conner tossed an unlit cigarette in his mouth. “Guess those legs of yours work as good as they look.”

Claire turned away before he saw her blush. “Where’s Abby?”

She felt a tap on her shoulder and whipped her head around, smashing right into the actress. “Ahhhhhh!”

“Ahhhhhhh!” Abby screamed back.

They burst out laughing.

A uniformed driver opened the door and everyone slid inside. Flashing blue lights wrapped around the ceiling and pulsed to the beat of the club music that Conner cranked on the radio.

“Take. It. Off!” he chanted as the driver pulled out of the lot. “Take. It. Off!”

Claire could hardly look at Abby, she was so embarrassed. How was she going to get out of this?

But without hesitation, Abby reached under her skirt, slid off her black thong, and whipped it at the security guard as they drove through the gates.

Claire and Conner burst into hysterics at the sight of her underwear flying toward the guard’s face and landing on his cap.

“I can’t believe you did that,” Claire managed to say when she finally caught her breath. Her stomach ached from laughing so hard.

“Babygirl, you are wild!” Conner pushed back the sleeves of his black corduroy blazer.

Claire checked her phone while they relived the moment the guard swatted the dangling thong off his head.

It was almost eight o’clock and still there were no messages from Cam.

OMG! Massie!

Claire was supposed to call her twenty-five minutes ago. She quickly pulled up her number and her thumb hovered over the send button, but for some reason she couldn’t press it.

“Who are you calling?” Conner leapt across the seat and squeezed beside her. He smelled like shaving cream.

“Just a friend.” She sighed.

“Not a boyfriend, right?” Conner pressed his knee against Claire’s bare leg and burrowed deep into her soul with his olive-green eyes. Her intestines did a three-sixty.
Was Conner Foley flirting with her?

“Nope, just a friend.” Claire closed her phone. “She was going to meet us out, but I think it’s too late now.”

“Then you won’t mind if Conner takes that.” He placed his warm hand on hers. Thin bolts of electricity shot up her arm as he slid the phone out from under her clammy palm and dropped it in the back pocket of his CF jeans. “You have been checking that thing all night. And Conner is jealous.”

Claire giggled. He couldn’t possibly mean that, could he?

“We’re here!” Abby popped open her green ring and pulled out a mint. “Want one?” she offered.

“No thanks.” Claire gripped her stomach when she saw the cluster of paparazzi surrounding the limo. “Are they here for you?”

“For us!” Abby grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the limo the instant the driver opened their door.

Conner squeezed between them so he looked like the luckiest guy in Hollywood. Then he stuck an unlit cigarette in the side of his mouth.

Dozens of cameras clicked and flashed until Claire was convinced she’d be deaf and blind forever.

“Over here!” someone barked and pointed to the wide lens of his camera.

“Look here, please, Miss Lyons.”

Claire had no idea who that was or how they knew her name.

“Abby, over here.”

“Conner!”

“Claire! Conner! Abby! Over here!”

Claire tried to look at the right place and smile at the right time but couldn’t fight the feeling that she was trapped inside a tornado, spinning and reeling out of control.

“You thinking what I’m thinking?” Abby murmured.

“Huh?” Claire asked, through her toothy smile.

“Yeah.” Conner nodded. “Hold on, babygirls.”

He tightened his grip so that the girls were mashed up against either side of his hard torso. In one swift move he thrust the girls onto the benchlike backseat of the limo. The paparazzi moved closer toward the car, flashing and clicking and calling their names.

“Incoming!” Conner shouted as he dove on top of the girls.

The driver slammed the door behind them and tore down La Cienega Boulevard, ignoring the photographers who were running alongside the car, begging them to stop.

“You can get off us now.” Abby tickled Conner’s ribs until he jumped back.

Claire sat up and smoothed her hair. “That was crazy.”

“Wait until the movie comes out.” Abby laughed.

Claire looked at the drivers in the cars beside them, wondering if one day they would know who she was and, more important, if she wanted them to. But that was too much to think about now. Her brain throbbed and her stomach was grumbling.

“Who wants In-N-Out burgers?” Conner licked his puffy lips.

“Only if you don’t tell Rupert.” Abby pinched her flat stomach.

“What’s In-N-Out?” Claire asked.

Conner pulled off his blazer. Claire could see his bumpy ab muscles through his tight white tee. “Only the best burgers in the country.”

“Yes!” She pulled off her boots and kicked up her feet.

“May I?” Conner pulled off Claire’s sweaty gray J. Crew socks and tossed them out the sunroof. Then he began rubbing the soles of her feet with gentle determination. She could feel it all the way to the tips of her ears.

“Don’t you two look cozy,” Abby purred.

But Claire was too sleepy to answer. She just sat back and enjoyed getting her feet rubbed by “the teen dream.” For the first time all day, cheating boyfriends and angry girlfriends were the furthest things from her mind.

L
E
B
ACCARAT
H
OTEL

L
OBBY

Wednesday, March 18th

10:16 P.M.

Claire stepped out of the limo carrying her cowboy boots.

“Don’t forget this, babygirl.” Conner’s tanned arm appeared through the open window swinging her phone.